Northwest Fishing Reports

Hello to everyone!

I'm hoping that someone will help me out with some knowledge around trolling for trout in smaller lakes.

I remember going with my grandpa when I was younger, but he never really taught me much. I'm looking to find out about proper gear or setups. I'm thinking wedding rings and tippin with worms. I really am a beginner with it all. I haven't been doing well with what I've been using. Is there a lb test recommendation?

If u wanted to take the time to help a beginner out, that would be really terrific. Thanks so much!

Jason

I'm no pro, but I troll either a wedding ring with a gulp maggot on the hook, or a Rapala floating minnow (1.5 inch).

I use 4 or 6 pound mono, small hooks, like size 8-12. And I'm rowing, so my troll is very slow.

IME it's easier to just huck a chunk of Powerbait or power eggs 6 feet off the bottom, but I guess that would be taking the easy way out, eh ;)

Welcome to the forum.

Your troll speed should be just enough to elicit action on whatever lure you are using. That can range from barely moving (i.e. dragging a simple fly around) to pretty fast if you go so far as to troll a spinner. A good rule of thumb is "slower is better." Wedding rings are nice because you get action of the blade at slow speeds and you can toss a little bait on there (I use half a night crawler). That's my go to if I am just trying to put fish in the boat. Personally, I prefer floating Rapalas or small spoons such as Dick Nites, Little Cleos, or Needlefish. There are various colors that work depending on conditions, but some good ones to have on hand are green/chartreuse, orange, red, and/or firetiger. I find green is a good all around productive color and I don't worry about bait with those lures.
My line weight runs between 6-8 lbs. If you're not having luck don't be afraid to start changing out lures, depth, speed, etc.
I usually start close to the surface about 30-60 feet behind the boat with either a green spoon or a floating jointed Rapala. Usually one of those gets hit, but if not, then from there I'll start with adjusting color and then cycle back through my gear, but adjusting depth. Sometimes it's the jerky movements of speeding up and slowing down that will get the hits.
There area a lot of good youtube videos out there on how to troll for trout along with some good "how to" info on the Luhr-Jensen website. Not to mention lots of knowledge from those on this forum.

What area/lakes do you fish? Sometimes you can get hints from locals who have been successful on those bodies of water.

Easy way to adjust depth w/o downriggers is to just put a "banana" sinker ahead of your dodger/lure/bait combo. Just a dodger and lure work fine sometimes flatlined, but if you want to go deeper add 1/2 oz banana sinker. Then go to 1 oz to get even deeper. Keep drilling holes in the water...you'll get 'em!

"Pop" gear or a dick night dodger with a wedding ring, spinner or spoon behind it has been my goto for forever. I usually run 4 lbs for trout, it allows for smaller lightweight rods and reels so it makes the fight more fun when you hook a big one.

Nightcrawlers, power bait and power nymphs are the biat I go to when the fishing is tough. Flat lining near the surface at a slow speed will catch fish, slower for a dodger, a little faster for the pop gear. If I need to put weight on it I like to use a spreader, and I'll clip a little pencil weight to it. Pacman weights work too, bananas work too. Deeper mid day, but if you see surface action, you're fin right on top.

Don't forget to consider leaded line. Each color you let out gets you 5 feet deeper. I have hands down caught more trout on leaded line than anything else. I use f7 rapalas, small hotshots #60, and flies tipped with a chunk of worm. Hope this helps.

This is really a stupid question Im sure, but I dont quite understand the trolling with a spoon/roostertail. Im assuming you attach it to a swivel? Last time I tried just hooking it up to line, my line got all spun up and went straight to crap. Thanks again! This is truly helpful.

Always a good idea to have a swivel in there to combat line twist. Not usually as severe with spoons as it is spinners nor with baitcaster reels vs. spinning reels. You might try placing a swivel at the end of your main line, then make a two foot leader between the swivel and your lure. That is a typical setup for me.

I've been trolling in small lakes for 20 years, in a 10' boat, I love it.
Recommend getting a good swivel, don't go cheap on the swivel unless
you like changing your line.
Wedding rings work great, buy ones with different colors, then you can
swap beads, once you figure out what color the lake you fish likes.